The New Test Track Is Open!

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The original version of Test Track was one of my favorite rides at Epcot. I was sad to see it go, but was excited for what was to come. I got to try out the brand new Test Track Thursday night, and it did not disappoint.

Where the old version was all about safety – lots of crash test dummy imaging – the new Test Track – presented by Chevrolet – is about design, power, speed, and efficiency. In fact, designing a concept car is a big part of the experience.

When you first enter the main part of the ride, your party (up to three people) is given a little white card you can wear around your wrist. You swipe this card at a design station, and then you can make choices for your car ranging from the cosmetic, like shape and color, to what kind of engine. (As fun as this was the first time, it’s worth noting that the FastPass lane bypasses most of this, letting you make just a few simple choices.)

After you’ve designed a car you get into a Test Track vehicle, and away you go! There’s a lot of neon and wild turns, and a fast ending that had everyone in our car – me, Heidi, her husband, and son – squealing.

We’re all such dorks – as soon as we saw our reflections we had to get a picture!

Here’s the final run of the ride, the speed test:

Just as I predicted (yelled) in the video, when the ride snapped our picture I was holding my camera in front of my face – but I wasn’t the only one!

After the ride we got to see how our concept cars scored. The green car – designed by Heidi’s seven-year-old son Danny – beat our car by twelve points!

Then we got to make a commercial starring our car, and email it to ourselves.

We even got to drive our little car around a virtual track!

And, of course, check out some shiny Chevrolet cars.

We all agreed that the new ride seems longer – and faster – than the original version, and all of the interaction is a fun addition. Great job, Disney! Thanks so much for letting me be part of the grand opening.